Tag Archives: advice

Only in grad school do you have class on the weekends

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By Keiko Talley
MS Journalism ’16
BU College of Communication

My first week of grad school is officially done. I am the third one in my family to even go to grad school, so my mother was bombarding me with texts saying how happy she was and proud of me; she has always been my biggest fan. My best friends from home were all wishing me an amazing first day. It felt like everyone was excited for me, except for myself. I was nervous. I barely knew my way around this huge city, and I was going to have to get back into the mindset of school after being in pure work mode for two years. I didn’t know anyone besides my roommates and few people from a chat group that we created on Facebook (but lets be real how often do you actually meet any of those people and become friends with them). Making friends isn’t my number one priority at BU, but it is something that I know I am going to need to do in order to keep my sanity…and that scares me a lot.

For my first week, I only had three classes. During my first, the T.A. told us that our professor was tough and made him sound like it was going to be next to impossible to get a good grade. Twenty minutes later, the professor came in and immediately started poking fun at everyone, myself included for my tattoos. However, this helped me start to feel a little better about things because I soon realized that someone who I thought was going to be “so scary”, actually was comical.

I chose not to go to the first graduate event at the Hyatt (a cocktail meet and greet for students and professors); however, when I picked up my roommate from the event, I quickly regretted it. But while everyone else was recovering the next morning, my roommate included, I went to a new journalism “boot camp” class all day Saturday and Sunday.

I had already had such anxiety about the class because it was about photojournalism and how to take pictures on a fancy camera, which I knew nothing about. After the professor took attendance I realized that everyone knew each other, which I found odd. It’s a small program, so most of us are in a lot of the same classes, but we hadn’t even had class yet. As I quietly sat at my seat, one of the kids behind me started talking about the Hyatt event and how I wasn’t at there. At this point, I thought I had missed my opportunity to make any friends.

I was wrong because that changed quickly. As annoying as it was having class all day my first weekend at school, it forced us all to get to know each other and become friends. I never thought I would actually enjoy learning how to focus a camera and set the aperture and shutter speed. But by Sunday, it felt like I was hanging out with my friends just taking silly photos of each other. Meeting the people in my boot camp class, and hanging out with them all weekend long made walking into other classes or even around campus a million times easier.

I had fully expected the worst when I was entering my first week at BU, not because the school work seemed so daunting, but because I was five hours away from anything and everything I knew. It’s a scary thought to embark upon a new journey where I could potentially fail. But, that ended up being the best part of entering my first week here at BU. You expect for the worst but hope for the best, and that’s just what happened.

Thankfully, the faculty has been nothing but helpful and understanding of a few unfortunate situations; such as, coming to class late because you went to the wrong building, not having the right book for class because you weren’t sure if you actually needed it (FYI: you do in fact need every book that a professor asks you to get prior to class), and even messing up your first assignment because you were completely clueless. The students here at BU are just as nice as the faculty, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from this week, it’s that we’re all in this together. We all want to make friends and succeed. So don’t forget, even though everyone in your classes is your competition, they are also your support group.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

BU Comgrad, Graduate Life, , , , , , , , , ,

By Michelle Marino
MS Journalism '15
BU College of Communication

As another cherished New England summer draws to a close, the school year is back in full swing at BU's College of Communication (COM). As I reflect on my summer interning as an Internal Communications Writer for Baker Hughes in Houston, Texas, I come to the stark realization that while I was still warm this summer, I skipped over my most beloved season in the Northeast. Alas, here we are, and the change of the seasons lingers in the air.

Since I’ve lived in Boston for the past six years post undergrad, I didn’t endure the normal trials and tribulations that most did come move-in day. I have been, however, experiencing probably the same amount of trepidation that comes with a new program and a new academic year. Recently, I left my career in technology consulting to pursue a more fulfilling and challenging path. I have always wanted to be a journalist, but I will admit I didn’t always have the guts to do it. So far, it’s been the most liberating and positive life choice I’ve ever made.

My true yearning has always been to write, and so I finally followed my heart. As my specific area of interest is culinary journalism, I have been trying to immerse myself in food events, reviewing restaurants, and experimenting with my own cooking at every opportunity. Much to my excitement, I was recently assigned the "food" beat in a Feature Writing class with Prof. Shell.

My overall impression of BU’s Journalism school thus far is that it is a top rate program run by people with serious credentials. It's been made clear, in order to make it in a precarious industry, it's necessary that you be even more dedicated to the craft and to marketing yourself. A swift wake-up call was the writing of obituaries in Prof. Klarfeld's class (who knew that an obituary is the foundation of all good journalism)? If you did, then you are ahead of where I was a week ago.

Along with Journalism Principles & Techniques, Feature Writing, and a Graduate Journalism Seminar, I am currently immersed in a two-weekend Photojournalism class that covers the basics of camera usage, video and audio production, and photo and video editing using Lightroom and Final Cut Pro X software.

This class is as relevant as it is intense - a must for any journalism student. As it was just added to the list of required courses this year in a spearhead effort by Prof. Smith, the kinks are still in the process of being worked out. Despite the tight logistics, I have a feeling this class will be around for some time to follow.

 Lastly, a Media Law & Ethics class delves into the role of the journalist and responsibility to the audience, as well as the ethical and legal implications at hand. I was interested to find out that Prof. Lehr (who teaches the class), recently wrote a book called Black Mass, detailing the dark existence of organized crime mobster Whitey Bulger. Hollywood is in the process of filming a movie starring Johnny Depp based on the book as well, and Lehr himself makes a brief appearance as a diner at a restaurant.

It's going to be a hectic semester, but I know it will be both rewarding and invaluable. I hope that I have enough time to cultivate all of the incredible resources that BU has to offer, as well as priceless relationships with the professors available to us. Take advantage of everything your tuition pays for!

 

Back to my new, old school

BU Comgrad, Graduate Life, , , , , , ,

By Ali Parisi
MS Public Relations '16
BU College of Communication

If you were in a 30-mile radius of Boston during Labor Day weekend, you knew: it was move-in time.  Home to numerous colleges and universities, the Boston move-in process is a beast in itself.  Everything from midday bumper to bumper traffic to countless discarded furniture pieces left on the curb screams, “Get out of this city while you still can.” And yet, hundreds of thousands of college students continue to make their way into the city.

Fortunately for me, this wasn’t my first time around the block, and I was smart enough to move in well before then.  This will be my fourth year at Boston University.  After three years of studying Mass Communication, I’m incredibly excited to dive straight into BU’s Public Relations graduate program.

If moving in and adjusting to graduate level classes wasn’t enough already, it’s also the middle of soccer season. I’ve been on campus since August 3rd for preseason training. Before classes even started, I had been through three weeks of training, two home games and a weekend trip for two games in South Carolina. I think it’s safe to say I’ve been pretty busy.  But hey, that’s life, right?

I have to admit, it’s so nice already knowing my way around campus and the city of Boston.  But even though I’ve been here for a few years already, I still feel the excitement of a new start: meeting new classmates and professors, taking new courses, and even playing new teams in soccer.  The comfort of the location, along with the thrill of a new beginning truly gives me the best of both worlds.

We’ll see how happy I am to be this busy when the papers start piling up…But for now, bring it on BU.

Be Well Read

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As an applicant to the masters in journalism program at the BU College of Communication, one of the essays that you have to write, along with life narrative and professional experience, is called "Periodicals".  This is the part of your application where you get to show the admissions committee how engaged you are in the current media landscape as a consumer. The thought is that folks who are interested in becoming journalists are likely inspired by professionals who they have encountered along the way. One of the defining characteristics of a great journalist is a constant thirst for news and information, and in the periodicals essay you have the chance to share with the school how you quench that thirst.

There is a major focus here at BU on electronic media and social media, so in writing your periodicals essay be sure to make it very clear that you not only frequent a variety of online news sources, but that you have at least a working knowledge of the social media scene.  If you don't have much experience with social media, I would suggest getting a little acquainted with the ways of Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. While you may not use these tools every day while studying here at BU, you will undoubtedly need to use them from time to time.

Listed in the required reading for every jounalism course you take here at BU will be a number of daily newspapers. Being up to date with The Boston Globe, the New York Times and USA Today is expected in the courses you will be taking. Therefore in this essay the ability to demonstrate that you are already in the habit of staying up to date will bode well for your application. And much like I suggested in the social media section, if you are not in the habit of reading daily newpapers, you would help prepare yourself for life at BU by starting.

The fact is that journalism is just as much about reading and staying informed as it is about writing and reporting. In my Journalism Principals and Techniques course in the fall our professor had what he called "The 3 R's":  Reading, Reporting, and Writing. In order to be a better writer, it's vital to be an avid reader. So while you are writing your periodicals essay, be sure to express just how much reading means to you.

I’ve Communicated… Stuff

BU Comgrad, ,

It’s sitting there, gloating at you.

That blank piece of paper on which you are meant to compose your second application essay. Oh, how you hate blank paper. Somewhere in the recesses of your undoubtedly incredible mind lurks an idea waiting to spill its way out onto that clean landscape of unfulfilled creativity, but no matter how hard you try, you don’t know how to extricate it.

I’m here to help.

How do you write about your communication experience? Does that internship at the GAP count? What did you do, there, anyway? What did you learn?

It’s all so much to keep track of. The best thing to do is start with something simple: re-read the prompt. Make sure you aren't missing anything. Here it is:

Write an appraisal in clear declarative English of your experience in any area of communication (if any). Include what you expect from a career in the field and why you chose to enter it.

Pretty easy, right? The easiest thing to do is to look over your resume to remind yourself of all the amazing things you have done. Find the activity or job or internship that most connects to the field you are looking to go into. If you
worked for a summer at the local newspaper or interned for a public relations firm or helped create advertisements for your college organization or won a local film festival, these are the things you should talk about. Don’t overthink it.

Here’s what we need to know:

-What did you do during your time in these jobs?

-How did this experience help you learn about the field and how did it shape your future aspirations?

“But,” you say, “what if I don’t have communication experience?”

I knew you’d ask, and I’m so glad you did. Many of our graduate programs welcome those both with and without significant experience in that field. However, this doesn’t mean that you haven’t done something related to communication. Find an activity that most closely relates to what you’d like to do and tell us about that.

Don’t forget to address the second part of the prompt. Why do you want to study public relations? What drove you to journalism? When did you decide to work in film, and why? There’s a reason you are applying to BU COM, and we want to know what that is. Tell us about your career goals and how your previous work and experience tie into those goals.

As always, write in simple, straightforward English with clean prose (think Hemingway – not a bad role model, at that). Make sure to spell check and scan for grammar errors. Again, this is a writing sample, so you want to write well. Finally, don’t be afraid to be creative. The prompt is straightforward, but that doesn't mean you can’t make it interesting!

And finally, good luck!